CITY OF DES MOINES SHORELINE MASTER PROGRAM

Des Moines Shoreline Inventory and Characterization
NEARSHORE LAND USE PATTERNS
The City of Des Moines is located in southwest King County. Des Moines is highly developed
and has a well established pattern of land use. The City is bounded by approximately 4 miles of
Puget Sound shoreline to the west and Pacific Highway South and Interstate-5 (I-5) to the east.
The cities of Normandy Park and SeaTac form Des Moines’ northwest and northeast borders
respectively, the City of Kent is to the east and the City of Federal Way is to the South. The
City’s shoreline jurisdiction is composed of a variety of natural and human-modified landscape
features that include natural and modified beaches, concrete, wood and rock bulkheads, roads,
and the marina facility.
Existing Land Use
The City of Des Moines is predominantly developed as single-family residential, with multifamily
and commercial developments located in limited areas. The City has a diversity of
housing types. Slightly less than half of the housing units are single family; approximately the
same proportions of units are apartments, condominiums, and retirement and group homes.
Mobile homes comprise the remainder of the housing units (City of Des Moines, 2002). Existing
land use is shown in Figure 7.
Single family residential development is the dominant land use, it occupies approximately 53
percent of the land area in the City of Des Moines. Multi-family development occupies seven
percent and mobile homes occupy one percent. Commercial developments (including services,
retail sales, and light industrial uses) occupy approximately six percent of the City’s land area
and are located primarily in the Downtown/Marina area, and along major transportation corridors
including Pacific Highway South and Kent-Des Moines Road. Public Facilities (including the
Marina, Redondo Beach area, and Schools) occupy seven percent of the City’s land area. Vacant
lands occupy approximately 18 percent of the City (City of Des Moines, 2002).
Several of Des Moines’ neighborhoods are located along the Puget Sound shoreline. They
include Downtown, Zenith, Woodmont West, and Redondo. The Downtown Neighborhood’s
shoreline includes both the Marina and Des Moines Beach Park. The majority of lands along the
shoreline in both the Zenith and Woodmont West neighborhoods are occupied single-family
development. The small number of multi-family developments and commercial developments
along the Puget Sound shore are all located in the Redondo Neighborhood to the south and
surrounding the Marina in the north. Public access to the shoreline in the City includes Des
Moines Beach Park, north of the Marina, the Des Moines Marina, Saltwater State Park and the
Redondo neighborhood.
The Des Moines Marina is the largest single facility/structure within the City’s shoreline
jurisdiction. The marina was built in 1970 and consists of permanent and temporary moorings, a
public boat launch, restrooms and showers, a fishing pier, a fueling facility, and commercial
areas and services. The Marina occupies approximately a half-mile of the Puget Sound
shoreline. The upland shoreline of the Marina consists of a timber pile seawall. The pilings in
the seawall are each attached to concrete weights buried under the pavement about 30 feet
behind the wall. The Marina is sheltered by a rubble rock breakwater structure, approximately
2,000 feet long. The commercial facilities at the Marina include a boat repair yard, boat sales,
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